Paranormalcy

Chapter 10: Those Stupid Fucking Amps

I grab a bottle of water from one of the coolers onstage, and look at my cell phone clock, and wait for Danny to arrive.

“Does anyone know why he’s so late? Did he like, get robbed or anything? I know that this isn’t exactly the best neighborhood” I bite my lip, and then start to bite my nails, nervous.

“Don’t worry, Abby, he’ll show up… Maybe he’s just nervous, like you,” Shelby offers as she places her hand on my shoulder.

“Why do you think he’s nervous? It’s just a show… We play shows every day, I mean, it’s just a show” I say out loud, and then realize how stupid I seem.

“Abs, calm down, alright? I’m here,” Danny says as he walks in the backstage door, and up to us.

“Thank the god damn lord! I thought that you were murdered or something!” I tell him, as I go over and hug him tightly. “I don’t think I could lose my best friend and my bassist”

I sigh happily, and then pull away from him afterwards.

“So, what do you think of my outfit?”

I spin around and show him a Nirvana crop top and jeans that I got.

This was probably the dressiest and sluttiest thing I’ve never worn, and you know what, I feel god damn good. I don’t really feel like anything can bring me down.

“Um… It’s uh… Nice,” Danny stuttered as he put on his bass, and plugged it into his amp.

“Thanks, Danny” I smile brightly, and pick up my microphone as everyone goes to their respective instruments.

"You know, Danny, I have a feeling this is going to be one of the best shows we’ve ever played”

Middle Of Their Set

“God damn it, Cali, you really wear me out” I say into the microphone, as I sit down on one of the amps, and drink a bottle of water.

“Oh, before I forget, let me introduce you to the band”

I get up from the amp, and walk over to Juliet, and then I put my arm on her shoulder. “This here, is Juliet, our kickass guitarist, or rather, the girl that I make out with, when we all get a little bit drunk”

Me and Juliet both smile, as I give her a little peck on the cheek.

I then walk over to Shelby, and wrap my arm around her waist. “This is Shelby, our country loving, cow boot wearing, and keyboardist. This girl right here, can throw down a good right hook, and ain't afraid to fight you if need be”

I jump over the drum riser, and sit down on Ian’s lap.

“And this, ladies, is Ian… Here’s an interesting fact about Ian, he lifts probably… Well, let’s just say, he could lift me, Shelby, and Juliet all at the same time… I would suggest obtaining him as soon as possible, because he’s not gonna be on the market forever”

I get off of Ian’s lap, and then walk over to Danny, who looks nervous as hell. Throughout our set, I often see Danny fumbling over chords, and riffs, which is not only bad for us, but for him, because he doesn’t seem like himself.

“And this, this is Danny, my best friend in the whole world… Without him, this band wouldn’t exist today. Oh, and I don’t know if you can tell, but he’s wearing eyeliner… I don’t know about you, but I think he’s going on a special date later tonight”

I wink at Danny, and then move into the middle of the stage, ready to start the next song,
but that doesn’t happen, because Danny interrupts us.

“Um… Excuse me, everyone,” he says and then coughs into the microphone to get everyone’s attention, “I have something I need to say”

I look over at Ian, Juliet, and Shelby and they shrug their shoulders, and don’t give me a clue on what’s going to happen.

“Danny, are you going to finally admit that you like guys?” I laugh, and then sit down on the amp closet to the end of the stage.

Danny bites his lip, and then speaks into the microphone, “Well, it has to do with liking someone”

I raise my eyebrow, and wait for him to tell all of us that he’s gay. I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised that he would reveal that he’s gay. He seems gay, he acts gay, and he’s my best friend. Not once, has he glanced at me in a sexual way, and neither has he done that with any of the girls in the band, and believe me, Juliet and Shelby have worn some revealing stuff, due to the AC normally not being on in the van.

Danny puts down his bass on the stand, and pulls the microphone off the stand, as he starts to take a step towards me. Even when he does reveal he’s gay, I’ll still support him, no matter what I’ll still love him, he’s amazing, and the best friend anyone could have. Plus, I love gay people; they are the best, which may be why I like him so much, and for fuck’s sake, he’s wearing eyeliner!

Danny stops in front of me, and then begins to speak, “Abby...Since the first time we met, I knew you were something special. About two weeks after we became best friends, I realized you were something more than that to me. You are my world. You are my motivation. And I had to say this now, before that man backstage swept you away and I'd lost my chance... Abby, I love you. And I can think of nothing better than you being mine, all mine. I was wondering... Will you be my girlfriend?”

There’s a gasp over the crowd, and I swear you could hear a pin drop, but all you could hear, was me losing my balance on the amp, and falling straight on my ankle, with a responding, POP!

“Fuccccckkkk!” I scream out, as my ankle is turned around at an uncomfortable position.

This pain, was probably the worst pain I’ve ever had, and I’ve gone through bee stings, wasp stings, guitar racks falling on my toes before; but this is the worst I’ve ever felt. So, I sit on the floor, and look at the people in the front, and what do I do? I wave, because, what the hell is there to do? Luckily, I’m not there for long, because Danny jumps off the stage, and picks him in his arms.

“Abby? Are you alright?” He asks me, while he clutches me protectively against his chest.

I wince in pain, as a treble of pain goes through my whole body.

“I probably shouldn’t have fallen off that amp, should I?”

Danny can’t help but laugh, “Yeah, probably not… Really though, are you alright?” He asks me, concern all of his face.

I can’t help but smile a little; he’s not gay, I was dead wrong, he just likes me. Well, he loves me, but same difference.

“Let me try and stand on my foot, and I’ll see if I’m alright”

He lets me on the ground, but holds onto me, so that I can stand up, but if I fall, he’s there to catch me.
I try and stand on both of my feet, and I almost fall over flat on my face.

“Yep… I don’t think that’s gonna work…”

I sigh deeply. I really wanted to finish this set too. I just can’t let my fans down, I can’t do that to them. I was checking my twitter earlier that day, and I was finding out that people were traveling 5 hours to see us play.

“You know what Dan, fuck this shit, I’m going to finish this set, sitting down or not, just bring me up onto the stage” as I tell him this, I hear cheers and clapping coming from the crowd. I can’t help but smile, as Danny picks me back up, bridal style, and carries me onto the stage.

Shelby goes and finds a chair, and pulls it onto stage, that I can finish singing while sitting down. I can’t help but smile, at everyone, as they go back to their instruments to play the next song, while I start singing. I honestly, don’t know how this could get better. I mean, Danny’s here, my best friends, and who I hope, will be my boyfriend soon, my best friends Shelby and Juliet, and Ian, the protective friend, I don’t think anything could go wrong. But, to make this happy ending complete, they’re one thing I have to do. Once we’re done the set, I motion Danny over to me, and god he looks nervous, considering I never answered his question. I get up from the chair, and lean on it for support, and with my other hand, I grab a fist full of Danny’s shirt and pull him closer to me. I lean up towards his mouth, and once we kiss, I swear I saw fireworks.